Contributors: A-Z Index

A

Name Photograph Title / Role Contributions / Notes
Allen Ellis Image Founder

Original designer for ocPortal

Also conceived and coded the Theme Wizard and Point Store

Son of one of the early inventors of Internet protocols (Usenet, aka Internet newsgroups)

Token non-brit

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C

Name Photograph Title / Role Contributions / Notes
Chris Graham Image Founder

Original developer of ocPortal, former lead developer of Composr CMS

Masters degree in Computer Science from The University Of Sheffield

Undertaken work for over 15 FTSE-100 companies, as well as many small and mid-sized organisations. Includes a number of banks and major brands.

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Chris Warburton developer for ocProducts

Made some key contributions to ocPortal

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H

Name Photograph Title / Role Contributions / Notes
Haydn Maidment project manager for ocProducts

None available

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J

Name Photograph Title / Role Contributions / Notes
Jim Davidson contributor

written many tutorials via Arvixe

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P

Name Photograph Title / Role Contributions / Notes
Patrick Schmalstig Image Lead Developer

Joined Chris Graham behind the scenes in the development of Composr CMS in 2016.

Took on the lead developer role in 2023 when Chris Graham stepped back to attend to his new lifestyle changes.

Spearheaded the development of Composr CMS v11 and the new website, Composr.app.

Formed the company PDStig, LLC to take on professional support and development for Composr CMS users especially after the discontinuation of ocProducts, Ltd.

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Philip Withnall Early Developer

Coded the chatroom, blogging support, the analytics system, and OcCLE (now Commandr)

Masters Degree in Computer Science degree from The University Of Cambridge

Other work has included helping out with Firefox, and ongoing work on GNOME

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R

Name Photograph Title / Role Contributions / Notes
Robert Goacher Image Founder

Ran some of the early websites where ocPortal came from

Technically the original developer of ocPortal, in that he wrote the first few lines of code

Heavily involved in the feature design process

Hosted some of our early meet-ups

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S

Name Photograph Title / Role Contributions / Notes
Steve Jarvis project manager for ocProducts

Wrote many tutorials via Arvixe

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Newest 10 Entries

Website Legends of Nor'Ova
Screenshot Image
Short Description Legends of Nor'Ova is a website / database based on the table-top role-playing game of the same name. It contains Wiki+ pages and catalogues with a vast amount of knowledge regarding the game and its resources. It features a customized theme / templates. And it has a community for people to discuss the game.

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Website supertilted.com
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Short Description Super Tilted is a team of pinball enthusiasts who develop original digital pinball tables for the Visual Pinball X platform. This website showcases their releases and ongoing (public) projects. All tables are free to download. And people can request to join the team.

This site has some secret sauce behind the scenes: a custom block for Scorbit leader-boards (pinball scores), and some webhooks to alert the team in their Discord of certain site activity. It also takes advantage of the Support Tickets e-mail integration and using zones for "sub-sites" for each released pinball table.

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Question Can I move a Wiki+ page?
Answer Technically, Wiki+ pages cannot be moved because they don't have a fixed location within the network structure. Creating child links forms a path, not a strict hierarchy. However, you can manipulate the breadcrumbs by ensuring only one path leads to a page.

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Question Can I track changes made to Wiki+ pages?
Answer Yes, Wiki+ includes a revision history feature accessible through the page edit screen. This feature allows you to view a log of edits, see changes highlighted in tooltips, and revert to previous versions of a page as needed.

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Question How can I view the complete tree structure of my Wiki+?
Answer You can access a view of the complete Wiki+ tree structure through the designated option in the admin panel. However, it's important to note that this view will reflect guest access permissions. Some pages may be hidden if they are restricted to specific user groups.

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Question What moderation tools are available in Wiki+?
Answer Wiki+ offers several features to help you moderate user contributions and maintain the quality of information:
  • Email Notifications: When a new post is submitted, an email notification is sent to the designated staff address, alerting you to new contributions.
  • Permissions Control: You can configure permissions to determine whether regular users can create new pages or only contribute through posts.
  • Page History: The revision history feature allows you to track edits made to pages and revert to previous versions if necessary.
  • Composr Moderation Tools: Wiki+ integrates with Composr's site-wide moderation features, providing additional tools for monitoring and managing user contributions.

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Question Can users contribute content to Wiki+?
Answer Yes, users can contribute content to Wiki+ through posts. When the "Show posts" option is enabled for a page, users can add their insights and information as posts below the main page content.

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Question What are orphaned pages and how should I handle them?
Answer Orphaned pages are pages that exist within the Wiki+ database but are not linked to the main tree structure. These pages are not accessible through the tree navigation but can still be reached through direct links or cross-linking.

Orphaned pages are not necessarily problematic. They can be intentional if you prefer to link pages using the wiki-style syntax instead of a rigid tree hierarchy. You have the flexibility to choose the linking method that best suits your content organization.

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Question How can I create and organize pages in Wiki+?
Answer Pages in Wiki+ can be created in several ways:
  • Referencing them in the child-list of an existing page.
  • Using the special Comcode syntax [[pagename]] to create inline links, which automatically generates new pages when accessed.
  • Utilizing the "Edit tree" button visible on Wiki+ pages to add child pages directly.
The tree structure can be easily manipulated through the same interface, allowing you to arrange pages in a hierarchy that suits your needs.

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Question How does Wiki+ differ from a regular wiki?
Answer While Wiki+ shares similarities with traditional wikis, it provides two key distinctions:
  • Optional Post Contributions: Wiki+ allows users to contribute short snippets of information (posts) directly on pages, enriching the content without formally editing the page itself. This feature is optional and can be enabled or disabled as needed.
  • Optional Tree Structure: Unlike standard wikis that rely solely on cross-linking, Composr's Wiki+ offers the flexibility of organizing pages within a hierarchical tree structure. This structure can be used in conjunction with or as an alternative to cross-linking.

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Top 10 Entries

Question Are there any limitations to importing forum data?
Answer Yes, some limitations exist, particularly with specific forum platforms.
  • General: Private messages are often combined into private topics.
  • phpBB: Usergroup configuration and HTML entities may require manual adjustments after import.
  • vBulletin: Calendar recurrences, ratings (karma), and 'goes to coventry' are not imported perfectly. Attachments may need to be extracted directly from the live database due to potential corruption in SQL dumps.
  • Simple Machine Forum: Banning features may not import perfectly due to differences in how Composr handles bans.

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Question Where can I find the import functionality in Composr?
Answer Navigate to Admin Zone > Tools > Import.

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Question What data formats can Composr import?
Answer Composr primarily uses database connections for importing. However, it also supports neutral data formats like CSV spreadsheet files and importing downloads from a directory.

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Question Can I import data from other platforms into Composr?
Answer Yes, Composr offers importers for several popular platforms:
  • Forum Software: Invision Board, MyBB, phpBB, Simple Machine Forum, vBulletin
  • Content Management Systems: WordPress
  • Special Importers: HTML website importer, Composr merge (for merging another Composr site)

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Question How do I move my Composr website to a new server?
Answer Moving a Composr site involves transferring both the files and the database.

Files:
  • On the old server, ZIP the entire Composr directory.
  • Download the ZIP file to your computer.
  • Upload the ZIP file to the new server using SFTP/FTP.
  • On the new server, unzip the file.

Database:
  • On the old server, create an SQL dump of your database using the mysqldump command or phpMyAdmin.
  • Download the SQL dump file.
  • If your URL is changing, search and replace the old URL with the new one in the SQL dump file.
  • Upload the SQL dump file to the new server.
  • Restore the database on the new server using the mysql command or phpMyAdmin.

Important Steps:
  • File Permissions: After transferring files, ensure correct file permissions are set on the new server. You can use the fixperms.php script, the upgrader script, or manually adjust them.
  • Configuration: If database settings are different on the new server, update the _config.php file or use the config_editor.php script to change the settings for both the site and forum databases.
  • Base URL: If your URL has changed, update the base URL setting in the Installation Options editor (config_editor.php).
  • Caches: Clear the block cache using the upgrader.php script.

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Question Can I integrate third-party JavaScript libraries into Composr?
Answer Yes, you can integrate third-party JavaScript libraries using various methods:
  • Direct reference by URL: Include the library's URL in your theme's HTML.
  • Composr's JavaScript API: Use Composr's API for organized inclusion and potential future compatibility benefits.
  • Manual integration: Directly include the library's code in appropriate template files.
Choose the method best suited for your needs and technical proficiency.

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Question How does Composr handle user authentication with external systems like LDAP or HTTP authentication?
Answer Composr can integrate with LDAP and HTTP authentication, but these features are considered complex and may require programming experience to set up correctly. Both methods allow users to log in to Composr using their existing credentials from the external system, streamlining access and management.

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Question What are the limitations of using a third-party forum driver?
Answer Using a third-party forum driver can lead to limitations. Custom profile fields of type LONG_TEXT are limited to TEXT length, cookie integration is not officially supported and can be complex, and some forum drivers have specific quirks detailed in the nuances tutorial.

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Question What are the implications of using the "none-forum" driver?
Answer Using the "none-forum" driver disables or limits many Composr features, including commenting, points, and user interactions. Consider using Conversr instead and restricting access to the forum zone, join module, and personal zone.

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Question How can I integrate my forum visually into my website?
Answer Composr allows you to integrate your forum visually into your website. Enable "Show forum within website" in the Admin Zone configuration module and update the forum link in your menu to pass through the "forums" embedding module. You may need to adjust CSS to achieve a seamless look.

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